IMPRISONED - UNHEARD - UNNAMED
Aldeburgh, Suffolk, 1645. Mary Howldine, innkeeper, Puritan, follower of rules. Joan Wade, widow, long despised, seized for witchcraft.
As their two worlds collide, the terror grows. By Christmas, during the hardest winter in living memory, a further six women are imprisoned, awaiting trial, and Mary’s beliefs begin to waver.
The records identify the many men involved and how much they were paid, but only two of the accused were named. History treated these women as if they had never existed. This is their story… Inspired by true events, this compelling historical thriller is set at the height of the witchcraft persecutions in East Anglia. Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General, is invited to Aldeburgh to seek out witches. The town employs Mary Howldine to provide bed and board for him and his helper and feed the accused women in the gaol. Mary sees her chance to make her fortune, but as more women are rounded up, she begins to question the godliness of this persecution and her part in it.
As Joan Wade watches events unfold from the gaol, Mary makes her way in a world fraught with danger, where every step could end in tragedy. When men hold all the power, can the voices of the women be heard?